The University daily. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 18??-????, 1887-06-07
TR DIES In ME GO.
SINGULAR CRAFTS PURSUED IN
THE STREETS
Beantiful Pottery and jewelers. Fine
Work Cheapness of Gold Rag
BABY Making a Mexican
Weaver IS Trade Secrets.

Work Cheapness of Gold Rag
Baby Making "A Mexican
Weaver Trade Secrets:
Writing from Gnadalajara, Mexico,
FannielB. Ward says ii the Troy Times:
Various trades are carried on IA Gnada
lajara with great success, particularly
silversnithing, black smithing and car
pentering. Among the manufactures
those Of iron, steel, glass and q peculiar
kind Of pottery are celebrated All over
the republic. Indeed, the fame Of
ttGuadalajara pottery is world wide.
The qleerest designs Of carafes, odd
water Jugs with two spouts Of one, jars,
mugs, pitchers with long noses and stubbyI
handles, etc, made ofI baked clay, highly
glazed, with black, pale gray or dark
red ground, painted with impossible
flowers OF figures, which according to!
Scripture it would be no sin to Wor-a
ship, All quaint enough to rank
high ia any collection Of ceramics.
When new this ware imparts to the water
It contains d strange flavor, which is
greatly re1ished by Mexicans, but as much
.disliked by most other people.
. The gayest Of serapes and the finest ct,
rebesos are also manufact ured hereabont;
also paper and printed calico. The fiji eli
gree work Of the Guadalajara jewelers.
IS simply wonderful, and may be seen
any day in every stage Of progress, be
cause III all tropical countries, as il the
far East, the majority of work
men follow their avocations IN the open
air. The gold and silycrsmiths ply their
intricate trade outside their little shops,
on the street corners, anywhere, undis-
turbed BY the dust and confusion around
them. They make exquisite bits Of Or
namentation Of the gold known in com
merce IS Etruscan, meaning the dark,
rich, reddish-yelloW variety. These
works are much more popular IN Europe
than on this continent, and across the
Atlantic no collection of Jewels or orna-
ments is considered complete without a
set Of Mexican fligree work. It is not
at all like the Fiorentine OF Venetian, and
is made after an entirely different plan.
The threads Of precious metal are beaten
to infnitesimal fineness, twelve wires of
gold twisted together making q thread
40 thicker than No. "a spool cotton. The
wires are allcarefully traced On sketches
Or patterns, and the delicate manner ia
which each wire is soldered to the other
is one of the marvels of human skill.
From earliest days the Mexicans have
been adopts in this kind of workmanship,
but sol behind the times are latter day
artifcers thatin improvid Mexico hui
man labor counts for next to nothing,
and skilled workman will toll for weeks
over ! delicate toy which sells for = few
hs pssc;saD lstal bsi ~
tiful, Because Of the fenaafk ahle richness
Of the surrounding sierras, ornaments Of
pure gold and silver are common among
theEpoorest people from great hoops in
their ears to cigarette cases in Their
pockets. AT every street corner are little
stands where genuine treasures, in the
way of antique jeWelry or exquisite
specime ems Of filigree work, may be bought
for a song. There are. bracelets, neck
laces, combs, earrings, cruteiilffLxxes;. lie
short, every aginable device--some Yet
with the beautiful opals of Querelara, or
pearls from the California gulf; or topaz,
amethyst, garnets or ''cats'-eyesn from
other portions of Mexico. - 4
The Guadalaiaran wood -carvers are also
famed for the beauty Of their workman
ship. In a hundred little shops we find
swarthy workmen patiently carving bits
Of wood into wonderful rosaries, every
bead of which shows d miniature picture
of some scriptural scene heads which
are really perfect portraits for the tips Of
canes and umbrellas, rings, boxes, cigar
ette cases, buttons, etc. The cane carv-
ers, who have over 200 varieties Of rich
native wood to choose from, produce
some wonderful sticks; and many Of the
most expensive umbrella and parasol
handles known to commerce are wrought
by these unknown and poorly paid work
men.
\ One has a chance to study good
many quaint trades in this land Of THE
Fair God" jealousy guarded by the
Mexicans, having been handed down
through successive generations from In
dian ancestors, who practiced them cen
turtles before the coming Of Cortez.
Among the most curious is the pottery
making, in which the native 'throwers, =
or mblders, by mere tWistsof the hand,
a turn Of the wrist, or a twirl of the fin
gers, form the yielding clay into the
oldest shapes.
Still more interesting is the craft Of
making perfectly life-like miniature fig-
ures out of rags an art which has exist
ed in Mexico at least five hundred years.
Dickens's Jenny Wren, the dolls dress